WWF 'Royal Rumble RAW' Review: February 3rd,1997

WWE Erase Their Past, Psycho Sid Talks About Roller Coasters & Owen Hart Hates Canada!

You won't find this segment on the WWE Network

It doesn’t matter when you’re reading this, because on October 28, 2018, a ‘historic’ All-Women’s PPV titled ‘WWE Evolution’ will have taken place. But shifting gears back to February 3rd, 1997- We see Vince McMahon interviewing Peta Wilson, star of La Femme Nikita (a show which aired on the USA Network right after RAW at that point in time). This segment has been erased from WWE Network's history, & you will soon find out why.

The show itself was very infamous for its raunchy portrayal, so Vince asks Peta about the ‘sexuality’ involved in her show. He says that there’s a ‘certain degree of sex that everyone appreciates’ in it. I mean, is Vince cheekily hinting at the near future right now? Or is it all just a big coincidence?

Of course, the star herself brushes all of that & calls it a very ‘proper’ show that you can watch ‘quietly’ at your home. And boy, the look on Vince’s face right when she says those words almost hints as if he is thinking— “Oh we’ll see about that. Sure.”

Just saying, 30-second women’s matches did not automatically turn into Main-Events just because the ‘fans asked for it’, no, it’s only one man- Vince McMahon who controls everything in the end.

Now you know why this interview doesn't exist on the WWE Network.

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Psycho Sid strikes again!

JR conducts an in-ring interview with Psycho Sid. Let’s hope Sid doesn’t stumble through this one (Yeah, sure. Who am I kidding?).

The main purpose of this interview is to hype the HBK-Sid rematch for next week’s Thursday RAW Thursday. After Sid’s loss at the Royal Rumble PPV, JR asks Sid about his ‘personal feelings’ towards Shawn Michaels.

Boy, here we go.

Psycho Sid delivers a weird, over-complicated promo about his relationship with Shawn Michaels. What makes it complicated is the fact that he uses Roller Coasters as an example here. You heard that right. Sid says something about Roller Coasters going up & down just like his relationship with Shawn Michaels while the fans ride on that same roller coaster all along.

In between, he also says something that doesn’t make sense— “…We sometimes mistake evil with happiness.”

No, we don’t. No, we certainly don’t. He then goes back to explaining how Roller Coasters work. That’s pretty much it. See you on Thursday RAW Thursday, Sid.

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MATCH #3: The British Bulldog & Owen Hart (c) vs. Doug Furnas & Phil Lafon {WWF Tag Team Championship Match}

Nobody can top Owen Hart's comic timing...

“I hate Canada…I’m the only thing good about Canada!” — says Owen Hart, looking right into the camera, surrounded by fellow Canadians in the audience.

“Unbelievable. He lives here!” – Vince McMahon.

I mean, the match hasn’t even started yet, but Owen Hart doesn’t give a sh*t. He’s awesome.

The match starts off quick, Lafon goes for a technical takedown. Later on, The British Bulldog catches Lafon mid-air & attempts to execute a power slam. However, Lafon escapes & pushes him towards the post.

But what’s more interesting to McMahon, is Lafon’s partner— Doug Furnas. Why? Well, Vince says that ‘Furnas has the flu tonight’.

HBK had the flu a few weeks ago. Is there already a flu epidemic in the WWF locker room? I bet Furnas got it from HBK.

The match goes on pretty good, but slows down after a while, allowing the commentators to plug ads & have an in-depth discussion about the flu itself. By the way, Michael Hayes is on commentary under the name Dok Hendrix.

Anyways, after 2/3rds of the match is over, the Bulldog is showing-off in the corner whilst Owen wanted to tag him in. Both of them have a war of words with each other. Remember, Owen & Davey Boy Smith have a love/hate relationship despite being Tag Champs at this point.

This altercation almost cost them their titles as Furnas/Lafon goes for a quick roll-up pin.

Later on, Lafon goes for an amazing float over DDT that you see in those WWE 2K Games (but rarely on the WWE main-roster these days). Heck, Lafon goes for a pin & the referee counts immediately. 1,2…3! What?! Lafon & Furnas are the new tag champs?

Ugh, no. Owen’s foot was on the ropes. It’s a glorified house show, don’t expect the titles to change hands just like that.

However, out of all the matches so far, this one has great storytelling. Towards the climax of this bout, The British Bulldog accidentally back-body drops Owen Hart over the top-rope. Owen falls outside & immediately grabs his own ankle, grimacing in pain.

‘What’s wrong?’ asks Owen’s tag partner. And Owen is back at it again- He is asking for a frickin’ time-out! He even makes those cute little time-out gestures with his hand. Like a little kid- He is faking all of it. But it’s just so goddamn hilarious when Owen does it because you know he is ribbing, especially when it’s a house show.

Timeout!

The referee counts him out. Furnas & Lafon win the match, but technically Owen & The British Bulldog are still Tag Champs. But hey, Owen is not done yet. He gets up & zooms with full speed towards the entrance ramp. Vince immediately points whether Owen really sprained his ankle or not. When Owen notices that the camera is back on him again, he instantly stops & pretends to be injured once again.

The British Bulldog doesn’t like it, but Owen raises his brother-in-law’s hand anyway…

RESULT: Furnas & Lafon win via count-out (but Owen/Smith retain their tag titles).